Folder paper fastener



May 7, 1935.

R. G. BOURDON FOLDER PAPER FASTENER Filed Nov. 5, 1931 Patented May 7, 1935 more ' roman mrnn FASTENER y Rnss'elt G. Bourdon, Muskegon, Mich, assignor' to;

' The Shaw-Walker Company,

acorporation efMichigan Muskegon, Mich" hps mti anwmber 5, 1931;. Serial nasraosz v 6 Claims.

invention relatesto improvements in folder paper'fasteners, and more particularly 'to metal fasteners adapted to be. affixed to folders and like devices for the filing. and preservation of papers, correspondence and the like. 3 V

Theobiect of the invention is to provide a simple yet practical fastener capable; of'securelyretaining the paperswvithin thBiOldQl and'ina manner affording maximum convenience for reference purposes.

. preferred form of. the improved fastener is disclosed in. the accompanyingdrawing, inv which Figure Iris a perspective viewof afolder equipped with a fastener showing the manner which: papers are inserted or filed therein;

- Figure 2 is a perspective view of the complete fastener prior toaitsattachment to a folder or other filing device;

Figure 3 is an enlarged. view in section through the foldersimiiar to Figure 2 showing the-papers and-contents as takenonline 3--3 of 1;

and

Figure this perspective View of the body portion showing the manner of fastening it to a folder.

Rzferrin'g first to the fastener per se, the same comprises two parts, to wit: the body land a follower 2. The body I includes two main parts, namely: a base 3 and an upstanding blade 4 formed integral with the base. The parts of the fastener are made of thin sheet metal of a suitable grade and gauge, being stamped out in quantity in a series of stamping or punch press operations.

The body of the fastener is completed in a single stamping operation and then bent to its final-shape, with the blade 4 projecting at right angles to the center of the base which is a flat plate, say, inches in length and of an inch wide with rounded ends and pointed projections 5 along the sides near the ends, these projections being later bent upwardly at right angles from the prongs by which the body of the fastener is secured to the folder.

There are preferably two pairs of, prongs 5,

one pair on each side of the base, one pair being located on either side of a rectangular recess 3 extending inwardly from one side of the base to its center line or major axis, the metal removed in the forming of this recess forming a part of the blade 4 projecting upwardly from the inner edge of the recess. The other pair of prongs on the opposite edge of the base are spaced somewhat nearertogether with a V-shaped notch 3 between them, this notch having no particular (or. zr-assr function other than to eliminate unnecessary metatlw g l V The blad :4, as already stated, projects at right angles to and from the central portionzofQthe base 3, and: hasv a widthiof about $5; ofan'inch. It may be: stated in this connection that the sise of; these fasteners may be. varied-wso that the dimansions are given priniari-lyfor the. purpose of indicating proportions, although a fastener for general usage would follow generally the dirnem s-ions given. .The: blademoreover tapers to; a

sharp'point at its uppertand free endand i-s1-capable' of piercing thexshee-tsof paper or correspondcnce to be fastenedrin the: folder, and finally, the blade is slotted longitudinally through the portion below the pointed. end, the purpose of the slot E being to. render "the blade more flexible and thus bend more readily when: turned down after the papers have been fastened in place; A

The follower orj compressor. plate -2:. isa flat metal plate of about. the: size: and shape as the base I of the body: Lbeing elongated in. one di.-. reetion and having-its ends rounded; the extreme end edges. being. bent at a; slight. angle to the body of the plate to provide lips 2 2 for convenience in grasping the follower when manipulating the fastener. At the center of the plate is a narrow slot 1 extending longitudinally thereof, said slot being of a size to allow the blade to pass freely throughit. Inward from the ends of the slot 1, the plate is upset in the form of circular bumps or domes 8, 8 which are bisected by the slot, the two halves projecting from the upper side of the follower plate.

As clearly shown invFigure' 4, the fastener is affixed to a folder F by inserting the blade 4 and prongs 5 through the sheet from the outside and the latter being bent overjto anchor the body in place, leaving the blade free to pierce the paper or other matter to be filed in the'folder.

The preferable location for the fastener is adjacent the upper left hand corner and its position the pointed blade so that the latter pierces the upper left-hand corner of the sheet or sheets,it

being usuallynecessary to apply the sheets one or two at a time inasmuch as the blade is not ber of sheets.

sufliciently stiff to withstand the pressure necessary to force the blade through an excessive num- And finally after the sheets have been pierced and pressed down on the shank of the blade, the follower 2 is placed on the upstanding blade and holding it down with the fingers of onehand, the blade is bent over with the other and. preferably in a direction away from the body of the sheets as shown in Figure 1. The bend in the blade occurs just above the follower plate so that the projecting domes 8, 8 come in contact with the blade as it is'bent over flatwise against the plate, with the result that additional pressure is exerted on the follower to compress the sheets together at the point where the blade passes through them. 4

This type or style of fastener has certain unique features which bear recounting, the principal one being-the fact that only one prong or blade is.

thus simplifying the task of turning the sheets as in reading through a sheaf of correspondence or in thumbing through the same to locate a particular letter or item. And finally the single wide blade or prong coupled with the follower plate holds the sheets securely in place so that in spite offrequent. handling there is no tendency for them to spread fanwise' or to become detached by the tearing of the paper.v

Having set forth a preferred embodiment of my invention, I claim:

1. A metal fastener comprising a single stout short prong having an integral base adapted to be fixed to 'a folder, said prong being pointed at its end and relatively wide whereby sheets pierced thereby are held. against displacement about the fastener, and a follower plate having a centrally disposed slot to rec'eive'and acting to exert pressure on the sheets when the prong is'bentover. 2. A fastener comprising a short stout'pointed prong having an integral base plate provided with marginal prongs for attaching the same to a folder, said prong in its upright position being capable of piercing a limited number of sheets in the act of entering the contents in the folder and of holding the same against subsequent displacement about the prong, and a centrally slotted follower plate adapted to be applied to the prong and having raised projections along the edges of the slot and acting to increase the pressure exerted thereby against sheets on the fastener when the prong is bent over.

3. A metal fastener comprising a relatively short pointed prong having an integral base thereby against displacement thereon, and a slotted follower plate-adapted to be applied to the prong and againstthe sheets on the fastener when the prong is bent over and having upturned end portions to facilitate the manipulation of said plate.

4. A metal fastener comprising a short bladelike prong having an integral base plate adapted to be fixed fiatwise to a folder and having a width sufficient to singly hold sheets of paper impaled thereon against displacement about the same and in alignment within said folder.

' 5. A metal fastener comprising a short pointed prong having an integral base-plate adapted to be attached flatwise to a folder, said prong being relatively stiff and of sufficient width to singly hold sheets of paper impaled thereon in alignment within said folder.

6. A metal fastener comprising a single short blade-like prong having a base plate at its lower end adapted to be attached fiatwise to a folder, said prong being sufficiently broad to retain sheets of paper impaled thereon in secure alignment in said folder, and a centrally slotted follower plate adapted to be applied to said prong in its upright position and acting to bind the sheets together around the base of the prong when the latter is bent over.

' RUSSELL G. BOURDON. 

